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The Ace of Hearts
(1915) United States of America
B&W : Two reels
Directed by Walter Edwards
Cast: Walter Edwards [Sergeant Adams], Charles E. Ray (Charles Ray) [Jean Desmond], Ethel Ullman [Celeste Lebault], Frank Burke (J. Frank Burke) [Francois Lebault], Leo Willis [Baptiste]
[?] New York Motion Picture Corporation? production; distributed by Mutual Film Corporation [Domino]. / From a screen story by Richard V. Spencer. / Released 8 July 1915. / Standard 35mm spherical 1.33:1 format.
Drama.
Synopsis: [?] [From The Moving Picture World]? His courtship of Celeste Lebault forbidden by her father, Jean Desmond, a young French Canadian trapper, is forced to meet his sweetheart clandestinely. He calls at her cabin in the absence of her father, who is nearby chopping cord wood. The father breaks the handle of his axe, returns home, and catches Jean courting Celeste. The father orders Jean from the cabin and a fight follows, which is witnessed by the neighbors. Jean and Francois, the father, are separated. Lebault sends Celeste on a long visit to her aunt to break the infatuation for Jean. On the morning of Celeste’s return, she finds her father’s murdered body in his cabin. She is thrown into hysteria and the village seethes with excitement and speculation of who could have murdered him. Suspicion falls upon Jean, the villagers remembering the hard feeling between him and the dead man. The police are sent for and Sergeant Adams of the Northwest Mounted, reports in citizens clothes. Sergeant Adams finds a clue in a torn piece of playing card clutched in the dead man’s right hand. The torn piece of card is a piece of the ace of hearts. Adams searches the village for a similar pack, he, too, at first suspecting Jean, but a search of Jean’s cabin shatters the suspicion, for in it Adams finds a deck of cards with the ace of hearts intact and of a different design from the one taken from the hand of the murdered man. Celeste refuses to share the village suspicion of Jean and believes him innocent and welcomes his sympathy of her bereavement. Adams, unable to solve the mystery, starts back to headquarters to report. His horse falls and throws him hard, breaking his left arm, also breaking the leg of the horse. Adams is forced to shoot the horse to end its sufferings and he looks about for a shelter for the night. He comes to the cabin of Baptiste. That night a terrific blizzard swoops over the mountain and snows Adams in and he is unable to leave. The next day Baptiste proposes a game of cards to pass the time. Adams consents. During the course of the game the damaged ace of hearts turns up and Adams tries to arrest the man. Baptiste overpowers him and is about to kill him with his own revolver when an avalanche of snow hits the cabin and shatters it. The cabin takes fire. Baptiste, badly hurt and dying, is rescued by Adams. Dying Baptiste confesses to the murder of Lebault.
Survival status: (unknown)
Current rights holder: Public domain [USA].
Listing updated: 25 November 2022.
References: Braff-Short n. 67 : Website-IMDb.
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